The Great Physician

This is a walking staff I made for Peggy Savage, a precious lady who is in my Sunday School Class. It has "Amazing Grace" on it. There is a great story behind this and I wanted to share it. Peggy had actually paid me for a walking cane when I was at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. It had the hymn "The Great Physician" on it. Peggy had been through a lot of physical problems and every time I made a cane with this song I would think of her. She carried the cane with her to church all the time. One Sunday when we were at Tabernacle Baptist Church, there was a young girl there who had been in a really bad car accident. She was in a wheelchair and the church had been praying for her for quite a while. At the end of the service we started singing "The Great Physician". All I could think of was Peggy's walking cane, and the Holy Spirit was speaking to Peggy as well. The family had their daughter come forward at the end of the service and our Pastor and Deacons prayed for her and anointed her with oil, praying the prayer of faith for her healing. At the end of the service, Peggy took her walking cane to the front of the church and gave it to the young girl as a gift. I still cry thinking about it at times. It was such a selfless thing she did and it just made me love her more than I already did. Peggy has a huge heart and is always doing for others. So, I made her another cane and put "Amazing Grace" on it, and made a mental note to think of others more often, and to keep my precious sister, Peggy, in my prayers to the Great Physician.

This is a walking staff I just finished last week. It has "Amazing Grace" woodburned on it with a quilt pattern. I have quite a few hours in this piece and it was such a blessing to make. My Grandmothers always had many quilts and we all loved to cover up with them and see all the different patterns on them. I remember seeing patterns of material from some of her old

dresses and some of ours as well. Some I didn't recognize and she would always know where the material came from, and would tell great stories about that person. Covering up with one of Mama's or Granny's quilts was like a trip down memory lane. I still have several of their quilts. Mama made an effort to make sure everyone of the Grankid's had one of her quilts. We all treasure them dearly.

Quilts are like pieces of our lives that tell a story in time. Only "Amazing Grace" can get us through some of the tough times. All those times pieced together make a beautiful life for God. We just have to keep in mind that God isn't finished with us yet.

This is a piece of diamond willow wood that was given to me by Ronnie Payne, a potter at one of the craft shows that I go to. The wood grows in upstate Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. It's pretty expensive if you have to buy it. A piece like this usually runs around $40.00. It has a very thick bark, and the beautiful red places in it tend to gum up and are very difficult to clean out. These places are a fungus on the wood. As I was making this I thought about the way God takes our lives as rough as they are and cleans us up and makes something beautiful out of us. Every time I work on a staff or cane I have myself a little revival thinking about what I used to be and how God changed my life. I only have 25 hours in this piece; God has invested 55 years in me! As I burned the words to "The Old Rugged Cross" I prayed that I would ever be true to Him until He calls me home.

December 10, 2009

Last year I took a pine knot and carved a chicken from it. I thought it was kiind of cute and interesting. When I did my show at Red top Mountain there was a gentleman there who purchased it and says he sits it on his grand piano. So, I decided I would make some more when I had the extra time. There's a man who has a shop on the side of the road close to Gatlinburg who saves me his pine knots. You can almost see something in them (Or at least I can)...anyway, it's lots of fun to take something that would probably be discarded as a fungus from a tree and make something interesting from it. Makes me think of how God can take a life that is in the pits and make something beautiful from it. He did that for me, and I am so thankful for His amazing grace.

Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you" declares the the LORD, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

These are my latest 2 "Pine Knot Animals"; My Goose and Snail.

December 10, 2009

This past summer one of my repeat customers came to see me at a show in Culhowhee, NC and brought a wooden book for me. I set it out at several shows for a witness of Christ and had great response. I ask my friend Mary if she thought they would be hard to make and she said she didn't think so. She and Sam, her niece's husband cut down a poplar tree on her property and began to make the wooden books. They've been cut, planed, routed, sanded and hinged by Sam and Mary. I did the woodburning and sealing. I'm looking forward to the witnessing tool they will be. The front side says "Why Jesus Died" and when you open it up it says "On The Cross" and has a mirror where you see your own image. Children love them and many Sunday School teachers have ask for them for a gift for their classes. I hope they will be a blessing and give me and opportunity to start a conversation about Jesus.

December 7, 2009

Today I am mailing a woodburning I have finished of "Sarah Grace". In the summertime our families all get together in Gatlinburg and spend a week in a huge cabin. We have so much fun! We actually have "Christmas in July"...put up a tree and everything. "Sarah Grace" was sitting on a rock outside the cabin when I took a photo of her. She was so so cute, pure, and innocent that I couldn't resist doing this woodburning of her. I'm sending it to their family in Oswego, Oregon for Christmas. I hope it's as much a blessing to them as they have been in my life.

Sarah Grace asked Jesus to come into her heart this past year and she was baptized this summer while they were home. I have prayed for her often that God would save her and use her for His honor and glory.

I look forward to doing a woodburning of Samuel, her brother. They are precious children and I love them dearly.